Chennai: Senior Congress leader Era Anbarasu on Monday filed a petition in the Madras High Court, seeking to
implead himself in the review petition by Nalini, a life
convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, pleading for
her premature release.
In his petition, he said the Supreme Court had stated in a
number of cases that `life imprisonment` means sentence of
imprisonment for whole of remaining period of the convicted
person`s natural life and that rules framed under prison rules
do not substitute a lesser sentence. "Hence Nalini cannot ask
any authority to release her. It is not mandatory for the
government to consider the request."
He contended that if Nalini was released, she would be
entitled to stay anywhere in India by virtue of her
fundamental right and would act a conduit to LTTE and the
outfit again might indulge in a conspiracy to eliminate
popular national leaders.
Anabarasu said though LTTE leader Prabhakaran had been
killed, there are still some hardcore LTTE supporters in Tamil
Nadu claiming he is still alive. "Under these circumstances,
if she is released, she will assist this group and create
unnecessary law and order problem, besides endangering the
life of political leaders opposed to LTTE," he said.
He said her freedom cannot be ordered at the peril of
lives and liberty of innocent and law abiding citizens.
Nalini was sentenced to death by a special court along
with 25 others in January 1998 in the assassination case and
the Supreme Court had confirmed the capital punishment for her
and three others.
But her death penalty was commuted to life by the state
government on April 24, 2000, allowing a clemency petition. In
2007, she had unsuccessfully appealed for premature release.
Nalini had on November 8 filed another petition in the
High Court challenging the March 24 order of the government
rejecting her plea for premature release under the Prison
Advisory Board scheme.
On November 22, the court had directed the government to
file its counter in two weeks on a review petition by Nalini
against a April 6 court verdict rejecting her plea for
premature release under the general amnesty scheme.
The court had held that Nalini had committed the crime in
a cunning and meticulous manner which killed the former Prime
Minister in Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991.
"So she cannot seek premature release as a right, though
she does have the right to seek consideration of her plea,"
the bench had said.
PTI
